-Fell asleep around 2:30a.m.
-Woke up at 5:20a.m. from a dream in which someone was telling me there was a problem, but then they wouldn’t tell me what the problem was. My tummy was a bit rumbly, so I took my Zofran since it was right when my eyes opened and I was feeling nauseated.
-Fell back asleep until 6:00a.m. and up for the day.
-Nausea medicine wore off around 12:20, so I took my next dose, which was right around the 8hr mark, a little less.
-Here comes the fun: About 10min later I was doing my mouth rinse and noticed that my neck and chin were red. By 12:50, my neck, chin, cheeks, and forehead were red. I placed a call to the nurse thinking she would tell me to take an antihistamine and report back. I had emailed photos so she knew what I was describing. She said “that’s not normal. I’d like to see you, can you come in?” We made an appt for later.
-Nurse examined my flushing/rash and seemed quite perplexed. We waited for the busy charge nurse, but she was quite busy. Eventually my nurse showed the photos to the charge nurse who said send her home to take an antihistamine. Since I already have an appt tomorrow, they’ll investigate further. I was given the instructions that if I started to experience swelling around the lips or extreme facial swelling, go straight to the ER. Obviously, signs like shortness of breath were also included in the warning.
-We got home, and I immediately took one zyrtec as instructed. It didn’t seem to do much. So, as instructed I took another zyrtec. I am still red; it’s not getting worse. I think it’s leaning more towards getting better, but I’m definitely still red.
-So far things have been way more bearable than I expected. It is not my expectation to feel this good for the duration, but I am glad that I didn’t get smacked down. I’d be happy to have the amount of side effects that I have had, and I know the reality that toxicity builds. My friend who is on a different regimen but similar meds got hit really hard by her 2nd cycle. So I am hopeful but not expectant.
-I am tracking all of my side effects which include: first bite syndrome, hot flashes, nausea, cold sensitivity, neuropathy, itching around dressing, headache, sore mouth, and dry mouth. All of those are in the mild to moderate range.
-I took all of my medications with the help of some watch/phone reminders today. I did my mouth rinse to prevent sore mouth 4x as instructed.
-I did fail on the moisturizing my hands and feet today. I am supposed to put a thick cream on them 2x/day to help prevent hand foot syndrome.
-I did not nap today. I thought I should, but I didn’t get worn out enough to. Hopefully I don’t pay for it tomorrow.
I am ready to be disconnected from this pump. I am grateful it doesn’t make a lot of noise. It just makes a little pumping sound every hour or so. I haven’t timed it…yet. Mostly I’m ready to have the port removed, bc it’s annoyingly itchy. I’ve been a good girl not to rip the dressing off. The consequences are pretty dire, so that’s enough incentive to control myself. I will be disconnected tomorrow afternoon. 72hrs later, I should be less toxic to those around me, at least from a chemo point of view. All other reasons are up to you.
Onward.